Our Favorite Articles on Successful Trends in the Classroom

The dynamics in today’s classrooms are ever changing. Educators are now, more than ever, challenged with staying current with these changes and considering new and innovative approaches in their own classrooms.

Here at One Workplace Learning Environments we believe in helping to share the amazing stories, ideas, and approaches that we find in the hopes of helping teachers and ultimately their students find success. We came across a couple of good articles which highlight recent trends that are successful impacting the classroom today. Check them out below.

The innovation cycle (also called “design thinking” or “human-centered design” methodology) is a practical, repeatable way to create solutions to problems worth solving. In technology and design hubs like Silicon Valley, many successful startup founders incorporate innovation methods and mindsets into their company culture, and/or use a version of this innovation cycle during product development. Why? Because it works! And you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to use these tools. For educators, this creative problem-solving methodology can be equally effective when applied to everyday school, work and life challenges, too. Here are the steps of the innovation cycle, as defined for the TED-Ed Innovative Educator program. Read More Here!

This is my second visit to the East Boston campus of Edward Brooke Charter Schools. During a previous stop, I sat down with co-director Kimberly Steadman. She was helpful, but I’ll have to admit I walked away wondering: Why is this (arguably) the nation’s top-performing charter? I still don’t get it.
A year later I returned, still looking to answer that question. I arrived a few days after the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to allow Brooke a high school so students from its current three schools can transition into a high school run with the same philosophy and results.
Said state Commissioner Mitchell Chester: “It would be hard to overstate the track record of educational performance (at Brooke).” Keep in mind, this green light to expand happened in Massachusetts, a state in the throes of the nation’s most bitter fight over charters. Read More Here!

People in poverty are as diverse as people in any other socioeconomic class. They present, like other groups, a wide array of values, beliefs, dispositions, experiences, backgrounds, and life chances. As educators, in order to be responsive to the needs of our students, it is helpful to consider the constraints that poverty often places on people’s lives, particularly children’s, and how such conditions influence learning and academic achievement. Poverty affects intervening factors that, in turn, affect outcomes for people (Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 1997). These factors include students’ health and well-being; literacy and language development; access to physical and material resources; and level of mobility. Read More Here!

Under-resourced schools face many challenges that are difficult. However, I believe that they can be conquered with sufficient time, dedication, and resources. Above all, success with these challenges stems from a belief in the potential of students and staff to achieve victory despite the odds.
The barriers that have to be overcome are deeply unfair, and political efforts must be made to reduce educational and socioeconomic inequities. But our students cannot wait for that to occur. They need help now, and schools need to embark on the path to turnaround sooner rather than later. However, there are no shortcuts, and efforts to rush the process can lead to disappointment. Read More Here!